by Phyllis Johnson

“In May of 1999 I was back packing the coast of Cornwall with my boyfriend. In July my breast became red and inflamed. The doctor diagnosed the problem as IBC and said that I would live about 2 years. A biopsy revealed that the cancer was in my lymph nodes,” says Jean Vickery. “I love to water ski, so the next day I went to Kerr Lake with my boyfriend and some family members so I could have one last day skiing.”

Twenty-five years ago, Jean Vickery lived an active life in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, working with the university development office. And then inflammatory breast cancer struck when she was 55.

Jean’s tumor was positive for the HER2 protein, a bad sign in 1999, because HER2 positive tumors tend to be more aggressive, and there was no specific treatment for that subtype. Fortunately, Jean was in the right place. The University of North Carolina was starting a trial of a new targeted therapy called Herceptin. She was the first person on the trial at UNC.

Following treatment with Adriamycin and Cytoxan, she had Taxol and Herceptin. She says, “I next had surgery with all lymph nodes removed. To the astonishment of the doctors, the nodes were negative. Then I had radiation, then 40 more weeks of Herceptin. I cannot believe I had 64 infusions! All my hair fell out, of course, and I was given steroids so I gained about 30 pounds.

I worked the whole time since I needed the money, loved my job, and needed to feel like I had a future.”

By February 2001 that future was looking better. She was managing her lymphedema with regular massage and a compression sleeve, habits she continues to this day. But October 2001 brought more bad news. Her fiancé died in a sailing accident. She says, “That was worse than the rest of it.”

Somehow she kept going, having DIEP reconstruction in 2003 using belly fat, not muscle, so that she could continue her active life. By 2004, she was finally back up on water skis!

Looking back on treatment she says, “The worst feature is that people are freaked out and assume you are dying and act weird.

Today I walk my dog, swim, snow ski, teach a course at church and live a pretty good and active life.”

Her advice for the recently diagnosed? “Live everything to the fullest you can.” Her theme song? “How Can I Keep from Singing.